


Mistaken Identity

by miss_aphelion



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Political Animals
Genre: Accidental kidnapping, But Bucky isn't actually in this one, Mistaken Identity, POV Steve Rogers, Pre-Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 02:56:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16076897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_aphelion/pseuds/miss_aphelion
Summary: “You remember me?” Steve asked, looking hopeful.“Uh, yeah, doesn’t everybody?” Bucky snapped. “You’re Captain Fucking America, or some kind of pod-version maybe, considering you’rekidnapping me.”





	Mistaken Identity

**Author's Note:**

> This is just an AU snapshot that I had to get out of my system, so it's a bit open-ended and I have no plans to add to it at this time. So be warned! Also, I take some liberties with characterizations in this, as Steve had to be a little slow on the uptake for it to work, and TJ is definitely accidentally channeling how I see Bucky.

Steve knew he was exhausted, but he hadn’t thought he was so far gone as to have started hallucinating. He just wasn’t sure how else to explain what he was seeing, because he’d just gotten back from another mad search in Europe for yet another dead-end lead on Bucky, and pretty much the last thing he expected was for Bucky to come casually walking out of a coffee shop just four blocks from his apartment. 

Steve froze, slamming to a stop in the middle of the road in the SUV he’d borrowed from Tony, staring at him with disbelief. Bucky was wearing a pink button down dress shirt and grey slacks, and he’d cut his hair. It was short again, with styled curls arranged on top of his head. He looked like a modernized version of the Bucky he’d known before the war. 

Steve numbly slid into an open parking slot before the car behind him could start honking at him. He had to be imagining things. He tried to get a look at Bucky’s left hand, but he was facing the wrong way and holding the to-go cup with his right. 

He might have just continued to sit there frozen, just watching, if a man in a dark suit and sunglasses hadn’t rushed out of the coffee shop behind Bucky, and roughly grabbed his arm. 

Steve saw red. 

He was out of the car before he even knew what he was doing, ripping the man away from Bucky and knocking him flat with a solid punch. The guy didn’t look like he would be getting back up any time soon, so Steve spun back around to find Bucky. 

Bucky had dropped his coffee, and was backing away from him with wide eyes. He looked about a second away from bolting. Steve hated to have their reunion this way, but he couldn’t risk losing him again, and he had no idea how under Hydra’s influence he was currently. He’d have to grab him now, and do damage control later. Hopefully he wouldn’t break any trust he’d managed to win back on the Helicarrier. 

“It’s okay,” he said, holding out his hand as he stepped closer. “I would never hurt you, but I’m gonna need you to come with me.” 

Bucky’s eyes were still wide, and as he ran his eyes across him they just got wider. “Is this like, a come with me if you want to live type scenario?” Bucky asked, but he was still backing away from him, and his eyes were flicking towards the Hydra agent Steve had knocked out with what looked like concern. 

Anger burned in him at the fact that Bucky was so turned around he’d be worried for one of them. 

“Yes,” Steve he said firmly. “It’s exactly like that.” 

He thought for a moment Bucky was going to go with him, but then another Hydra agent jumped out of a black SUV just behind Bucky, reaching out and grabbing him to pull him towards the car. Steve narrowed his eyes and rushed forward, knocking the agent away from him and into the side of the car. The man’s head hit the window with a loud crack, and he slid down onto the sidewalk. 

Bucky gasped beside him, stumbling to catch his balance. “Damon?” he cried, moving back towards the Hydra agent. 

Steve couldn’t risk them staying here any longer, so he reached forward, dragging Bucky up against him with a grip around his waist and his throat. Bucky struggled weakly against him, but with none of the strength he’d had in their previous fight. Steve wondered if he’d been drugged. 

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Steve promised again, though he didn’t risk loosening his grip as he dragged him to the SUV.

Bucky stopped struggling for a minute, before twisting to try and look back at him. “You are Captain America, right?” he asked, his tone disbelieving. “Jesus. I can’t believe I’m getting felt up by Captain America.” The last part had been muttered, and Steve frowned. That was Bucky’s voice, but the tone was all wrong. It wasn’t the emotionless accent-less voice he’d had during their fight, but it wasn’t the one he remembered, either. There wasn’t a hint of Brooklyn. 

“You remember me?” Steve asked, looking hopeful. 

“Uh, yeah, doesn’t everybody?” Bucky snapped. “You’re Captain Fucking America, or some kind of pod-version maybe, considering you’re _kidnapping me_.”

They’d already drawn a crowd. He could see people filming him on their cellphones. Nat would be so disappointed in him for causing a spectacle, but he hadn’t been about to let some Hydra goon steal Bucky right out from under him again. 

He adjusted Bucky in his arms, holding him more firmly against his side as he reached out to open the door. 

“Oh my god,” Bucky cried, as Steve’s hand inadvertently brushed against the front of his slacks. “You could at least buy me dinner first!”

That was an incongruous enough to give Steve pause, and he froze for a moment, the door half open. “What?”

“You’re just lucky I left my pepper spray at home today, or you’d be in real trouble,” he continued, his voice higher than Steve was used to, and slightly hysterical. 

“What?” Steve asked again, staring at Bucky with disbelief. 

Unfortunately, Bucky used his distraction against him, slamming his foot down on Steve’s and trying to twist free. If he hadn’t been a super soldier, it probably would have worked. As it was, Steve just frowned, because he knew Bucky had been stronger than this before. Hydra had definitely drugged him with something, probably trying to make him easier to manage.

On the one hand, that was enough to make Steve’s blood boil—on the other, it was probably the only reason he stood a chance of getting Bucky out of here. 

He spun him around quickly, pushing him into the back seat of the SUV, and grabbing a pair of mag cuffs at the same time. He clicked them onto Bucky’s wrists before he could pull away, activating them so they snapped together and then locked against the back of the front passenger seat. 

It wasn’t until Bucky’s arms were locked in place that Steve finally noticed his left arm wasn’t metal. He reached out unthinkingly, and lifted the fingers of Bucky’s left hand. He’d seen the kind of disguise technology SHIELD had implemented, and had watched Natasha transform into someone else right in front of his eyes, but this was still remarkable. It even felt like a real hand. 

“This is amazing,” Steve told him, as he gently spread Bucky’s fingers and reverently ran his own across them. 

Bucky’s breath was coming out worryingly quick, but he still managed to look up at Steve like he thought he was crazy. “Thanks,” he said dryly, between quick breaths, “I grew it myself.”

“I can’t even tell them apart,” Steve said. 

“Look, I don’t know if this is some sort of weird come on, or what,” Bucky told him, “but I’m not that kinda boy.” He paused, frowning as though deep in thought. “Well, okay, I’m exactly that kind of boy, but even I have lines I won’t cross! And I don’t do weird hand fetishes, seriously, you’re creeping me out.” 

“I’d never do anything to hurt you,” Steve assured him earnestly, because he’d say it as many times as it took for Bucky to get it. He looked back up to meet his eyes, hoping he might get through whatever programming Hydra had ingrained in his head. “I just need to get you somewhere safe.”

“Wait, is this your idea of protective custody?” Bucky asked incredulously. “Are you insane?” He searched Steve’s eyes, and Steve tried not to let the complete lack of familiarity get to him. “That was a serious question.”

Steve glanced back behind him, noticing the crowds had gotten larger. “Stay put,” he snapped at Bucky, before slamming the door. 

“Stay put?!” Bucky screamed after him. “Dude, you’ve got me freakin’, magnetized to your car! Where the hell am I gonna go?”

Steve hopped into the driver’s seat, pulling out of the space fast enough the tires screeched against the road. One of the Hydra agents had stumbled back to his feet, and was screaming at him to stop as he unholstered his weapon. 

Steve slammed on the gas, heading onto the road. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Bucky looking back at the handler in concern. 

“They won’t touch you,” Steve promised him. “Not ever again.”  

“What?” Bucky frowned. “Seriously, you guys are all on the same side! They weren’t gonna hurt me! I’m a little more concerned about the maniac that manacled me!”

“I know they told you they’re working for the greater good,” Steve said, still looking furious even as he kept his tone level, “but they were lying to you.” 

“You think my security detail is _Hydra_?” Bucky asked. “I hate to break it to you, but I’m not that important.” 

“You’re just confused,” Steve said. 

“I really don’t think I’m the one that’s confused here,” Bucky told him, ending on a slightly hysterical giggle. 

“They’ve been lying to you,” Steve insisted, his fingers clenching the steering wheel. “They’ve been using you to do their dirty work.” 

“I think I would remember that,” Bucky said. 

“You wouldn’t,” Steve said quietly. “Because they wouldn’t let you remember anything.”

“I remember everything just fine, thanks,” Bucky said. “I remember growing up, remember my family…don’t remember secret Hydra missions, though.” 

“They must have implanted memories somehow,” Steve realized, talking mostly to himself since he suspected Bucky wasn’t going to be providing him with any help. “They must have found you, and—“

He broke off as he realized this had to be a set up. They must have taken Bucky, scrambled his memories again, and then set him loose in DC just a couple blocks away from his own apartment. He’d been bound to stumble on him. “Son of a bitch,” he snapped. 

Bucky snorted. “You have no idea how true that is, but you’re gonna find out,” he told him. “Unless we can work something out first. What do you say? You drop me off and we just let this go? Hey, you give me an autograph for Dougie and buy me a new coffee and we’ll call it even.” He actually pouted then, the way he used to if Steve tried to talk his way out of a double date. “I was really looking forward to that mocha.”

“Once we’re somewhere safe, I will buy you all the mochas you want,” Steve promised him.

“Jeez, you think I’m that easy?” Bucky demanded, his pout disappearing. “Well, you’re right. But only because you’ve got muscles like I can’t even believe and I’ve been fantasizing about you since I thirteen.”

“What?” Steve choked.

“Dougie used to put all your posters up cause he wanted to _be you_ , I just wanted to _do you_ ,” he continued, oblivious to the fact that Steve could no longer take in any air. “But I’m not into this type of bondage, okay, so what do you say you take these off?”

“Oh my god,” Steve said in horror. They’d turned Bucky into a _honeypot_. A honeypot _for him_. How did they even know? Steve had never told _anyone_. 

“Honest question,” Bucky said, leaning forward as far as the cuffs would allow. “Are you on something? Cause look, I’m in no position to judge, but maybe we should be calling one of the saner Avengers to come help? Just, not Tony. Like, any of them but Tony.” 

Steve was reluctant to admit it at this point, but that was actually a good idea. Not the ‘saner’ part, but the calling in help part, though Bucky’s insistence that he not call Tony made him think that he _should_ call Tony. 

There was no way he’d be able to get Bucky out of the state on his own. He could already hear sirens in the distance, which meant either Hydra had insiders with the police or they were just being called in due to the disturbance. Either way, he didn’t have time to deal with them. Tony would have access to a plane or maybe even a jet. 

“I’m calling Tony,” he decided. 

Bucky fell forward until his head hit the back of the passenger seat. “Never meet your idols,” he muttered. “Jesus fucking Christ.” 

Steve ignored him, using the comm unit in his ear to call Tony so Bucky couldn’t overhear. Bucky seemed to have been set up as some kind of sleeper agent slash honeypot, and obviously couldn’t be trusted. 

“Tony,” Steve said, as soon as he answered. 

“Boy Scout,” Tony said promptly, though he sound strange. “What have you been up to? Staying busy? Bit of R n R? Couple _snatch and grabs outside of the Starbucks_?” 

“Uh…” Steve started, before wincing. The cellphone videos people had been taking were obviously already making the rounds. “It’s not what you think.” 

“I think it’s actually not what _you_ think,” Tony said.  “Look, the thing is—“ 

“Tony, I don’t have time for this,” Steve snapped. “I need a way to get him out of here. Do you have a plane I can borrow?” 

There was a long pause, and for a moment Steve though Tony might not agree. 

“Okay, yeah, fine,” Tony said. “Meet me at my private airstrip. I’ve just had Jarvis send the coordinates to the GPS in your car. But listen, I need you to understand someth—“ 

“Thanks, Tony,” Steve said, reaching up to disconnect the call,  “got to go.” He leaned over to view the screen on the dash, and was relieved to see that the airport was only about a mile out of the city. He sped up, trying to ignore Bucky’s accusing glares. 

The good news was he managed to avoid the police all the way to the airport, the bad news was that the moment he pulled onto the tarmac where Tony was waiting for him in an suit and tie and loafers, they were surrounded on all sides by ominous looking black SUVs. 

And the fact that Tony didn’t even blink an eye meant he was the one that had called them here. 

Steve glared at him, but Tony was unfazed. He just strolled over and tapped at the window. Steve reluctantly rolled it down. 

“Stop being pissed at me, I’m trying to help you,” Tony told him, before leaning over the window to look in at Bucky. “Hey, kid, you okay?” 

“I’m not gonna pretend I haven’t had fantasies that started out this way, but the experience is not living up to the hype,” Bucky told him sullenly. 

Tony threw his head back and laughed. “This is why you’ve always been my favorite, TJ,” he told him. “Don’t tell Doug.” 

“What?” Steve said, glancing between them in disbelief. 

Tony ignored him, opening the backseat and doing something on his phone that disabled the magnetic cuffs. Bucky instantly slid across the backseat and let Tony help him out of the car.

“Tony, wait,” Steve said, pushing out of the car in desperation. “We can’t let them take him.” 

“No one here’s Hydra,” Tony said quickly. “What we’ve got here is a case of mistaken identity, Cap.” 

Steve glared him, and was about to say more when he heard another car pull up. He glanced behind him just in time to see a woman being helped out of the backseat. She was dressed in a beautiful ankle length green dress and heels, and it took Steve a moment to place her. 

It was the _President of the United States_. 

His eyes went wide, and he wondered what strings Tony had to pull to get her here. He expected her to come towards him, but she didn’t even glance in his direction. She went right for Bucky. 

Steve tried to step forward, but Tony reached out and tugged him back. “Just give it a sec,” Tony said. 

Then Steve’s mouth fell open in disbelief as the President pulled Bucky into a desperate hug. “Thank god you’re okay,” she said, pulling back to frame his face with her hands. She ran her eyes over him top to bottom. “Did he hurt you?” 

“No, Mama,” Bucky said. “‘M’fine.” 

“What—” Steve started. 

She pointed at him without moving her eyes from Bucky. “I will deal with you after I get him somewhere safe,” she said, before grabbing Bucky by the arm and pulling him towards her secret service detail like a mother might an errant child. 

Steve gaped at them, unable to make sense of any of this. Tony sighed, then turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “So..you want to tell me why you decided to kidnap one of the First Sons?” He asked. 

Steve pulled his eyes from Bucky, and looked back at him. “What?” 

“TJ Hammond?” Tony said. “First Son of our first woman President? You locked him in super soldier cuffs and wanted to run away with him in one of my jets? Any of this ringing a bell?“ He waved a hand over Steve with a frown. "You’re not all Loki’d, are you?” 

“Oh, god. He’s the First Son?” Steve said, falling back against the side of the car. “Oh, fuck.” 

“Language,” Tony chided, with a smirk. 

Steve ran a hand down his face, and then glanced up at Tony. “How much trouble am I in?” 

“There are two women in this world that I find truly terrifying,” Tony said. “Pepper Potts and Elaine Barrish. And you just tried to run off with her son.” He patted Steve consolingly on the shoulder. “What can I say, Cap? It’s been a pleasure knowing you.” 

“I don’t suppose I could still borrow that jet?” Steve asked hopefully, but Tony just laughed at him. 

“Oh, she’d find you,” he told him.


End file.
